© 2004 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
Response of potential fish community indicators to fishing
a Animal Sciences Group, Wageningen UR, Netherlands Institute for Fisheries Research, Department of Biology and Ecology Haringkade 1, PO Box 68 1970 AB IJmuiden, Netherlands
b Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft Laboratory Lowestoft NR33 OHT, UK
*Correspondence to G. J. Piet: tel: +31 255 564699; fax: +31 255 564644. e-mail: gerjan.piet{at}wur.nl.
Fish community metrics and diversity indices have often been proposed as indicators to support an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management. The response of eight fish community indicators to spatio-temporal changes in fishing effort was studied by comparing the rate of change in (i) areas subject to different levels (high, medium, and low) of fishing effort and (ii) areas inside and outside a closed area (the plaice box) where management measures led to changes in fishing effort over time. Several indicators showed broadly consistent responses to fishing effort (slope of the biomass-size spectra, mean weight, and mean maximum length) while a range of biodiversity indices and biomass did not. The response of the indicators to spatio-temporal changes in fishing effort showed that, with the exception of the slope of the biomass-size spectra, none of the indicators reliably detected the effects of spatial management measures at the scales of time and space that were used for these analyses. While some of the size-based indicators we tested did provide evidence for fishing impacts on communities, the response of the indicators to fishing was not straightforward and may have depended on environmental conditions and historic fishing regimes. Therefore, the indicators would provide limited support for assessing the effects of short-term and small-scale management actions and must be applied with caution until we have an improved theoretical understanding of their response to fishing and the environment.
Keywords: EcoQO, ecosystem approach, fisheries management, indicators, metrics, plaice box
Received 24 May 2004; accepted 25 September 2004.
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